For many of us, our first attempt to create an online social network has been based on pointing our browser to Ning.com and fumbling around seeing what happened when you clicked here or there; and all the time comparing our first efforts to other established networking sites or other Ning-based networks that always looked so much more inviting than ours. Now I'm the sort of guy who likes to have a sense of where he's going and what's possible, so I was delighted last year to notice that the For Dummies series was planning to tackle this piece of web-based software.
The book finally saw the light of day a few weeks ago and I've been reading it in phases. My first impressions were so favourable that based on what I had read that week, I encouraged another fledgling Ning site developer to persevere with her endeavours.
After giving you a quick tour of a typical Ning site, the author encourages you to join an existing Ning site so you can explore further before even beginning to think about your own site. Still from the perspective of a regular site member, you are shown how to get the most from the network you joined, including adding multimedia content, communicating with the other members and interacting with others.
Only when you've truly experienced the potential of a Ning site, does the book go on to show you how to take the plunge and create your own network.
You look at the structure and appearance of your site, before going on to customise your home page and organising your members. You are shown how to exploit forums, notes and chats, as well as how to manage the different types of multimedia you can use, together with getting the most from membership groups and events.
As your site grows in popularity, the author provides you with guidance on the appointment and management of supporting administrators, before looking at some of the ways you can find new members and promote your network.
A high level but still practical chapter on using Google Analytics to learn more about the performance of your network is followed by tactics to keep your network alive and kicking.
The final section looks at how you can further leverage your Ning site by purchasing some of the site's premium services, how you can overhaul the look and feel with CSS code, use the Language Editor to localise the site for different nationalities and embed so-called OpenSocial Applications into the site.
As always with a For Dummies book, the last "Part of Tens" chapter summarises different ways to make money from your site, add further spice to your network and find tools to help manage the environment.
Overall, this book combines both the mechanics of building a Ning site, with a more general discussion of how to successful establish and nurture a successful social network site.
